Scary Delicacies

[Margaret Lo]

To start this we have covered in the Ninpo thread:

Squid stewed in their own guts (yummy)
Sperm sacs of cod fish (want to try this for sure)
Grubs in soy and sugar - ditto
Wiggling live smelts - yum

Training may not induce me to go to Japan but the food sure will. :D

-M-

[kenkyusha]

Are you all familiar with ppopongi (sp) the Korean dish (pickled silk worms)?!?!? Has anyone actually had the 'pleasure' of tasting these?

Be well,
Jigme

[Joseph Svinth]

Hey, you can always try the Norwegian delicacy called lutefisk, which is cod soaked in lye for several months and then boiled to remove the lye. The consistency of the fish and bones (the bones are left in, but dissolved by the lye) is similar to tofu or the grits put in US military T-rations. Lutefisk is generally served on a white plate with boiled white potatoes; think that white-on-white decor you see in Bergman movies.

[Earl Hartman]

Margaret:

Correction re: shiokara. The squid is not stewed in its own guts, it is marinated raw in its own guts.

Shirako (cod sperm) can be eaten raw or cooked. I've had it both ways, and my wife says cooked is more common. It is often served in miso soup. Thumbs up on this one.

Silk worms, huh? Hmmm.....nope, I guess not. More power to you, Margaret.

Ever had raw sea cucumber (namako)? Crunchy, chewy, and slimy all at the same time, kind of like a rubbery green nectarine in texture, coated with a thin layer of Ghostbuster-type slime. Looks sort of like a slice of kiwi fruit. One bite, a LONG time ago, was in my mouth for about 10 nanoseconds.

Kani-miso (crab guts/brains), considered the best part of the crab in Japan.

Dave: We lived on salt-broiled iwashi (fresh sardines, usually about 6" long), sanma (mackerel pike), and aji (mackerel) when I lived in Japan. Delicious and cheap as dirt.

When we came back to the US, my wife took to buying aji hiraki (cleaned and butterflied aji salted and dried in the sun for a few days). The absolute essence of fishiness. When she broiled it, you could hear windows slamming all over the neighborhood.

Earl

[Margaret Lo]

Originally posted by Earl Hartman
Margaret:


Silk worms, huh? Hmmm.....nope, I guess not. More power to you, Margaret.

Ever had raw sea cucumber (namako)? Crunchy, chewy, and slimy all at the same time, kind of like a rubbery green nectarine in texture, coated with a thin layer of Ghostbuster-type slime. Looks sort of like a slice of kiwi fruit. One bite, a LONG time ago, was in my mouth for about 10 nanoseconds.

Kani-miso (crab guts/brains), considered the best part of the crab in Japan.


Earl



Earl - I have not had silk worms. I have eaten sea cucumber but cooked not raw. I am also fond of tripe, which in a little bistro in Paris, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, melted in the mouth and was fragrant.

I hope to find myself in Hong Kong in the near future for a foodie's tour.

-M-

[Earl Hartman]

Margaret:

Haven't had tripe but absolutely LOVE sweetbreads. Simmered in red wine with mushrooms and herbs, served over toast. Slurp, smack!

Earl

[Dave Lowry]

Dear Ms. Lo,
I risk making a fool out of myself by telling you something you may already know--and know more about than me--and Mr. Hartman can probably fill you in in greater detail, but...

Some of the foods we're discussing are what are called tsukudani. These are foods boiled in a sauce of shoyu or sweet sake or the like, until they are very soft. Little fish, for example, will be boiled until the bones actually soften, and then they're eaten whole.
Tsukudani are a kind of okazu, a "side dish" that goes with rice. Home-style Japanese cooking, particularly for lunch, a lot of times consists of rice with a side of tsukudani.
The history of this is kind of interesting; I wrote an essay for it for a Japanese magazine some years ago and will have to try to dig it out. Tsukuda is a place down around Osaka. Back in the old days, a lot of fishermen came from there to where the Sumida River empties out into what was then Edo Bay. They'd catch more fish than they could eat, so they started doing this long boiling process to preserve them (Tsukuda+ni"boiling"=tsukudani.)
Gradually other foods came to be included in the definition. Shiokara is a kind of tsukudani. The kind Earl mentioned, squid guts, is one regional variety. Katsuo-no-shiokara, or salted bonito guts, is another classic. But you gotta remember that no one sits down to a heapin' platter of this stuff. It's something you eat along with rice, in little nibbles. A little bit like the cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving.

To confuse matters a little more, there is also a food called sakana. Like the word for "fish" but with a different character. These are foods specifically meant to accompany sake. Like the nuts you'd get at a bar here. Shiokara is also considered a sakana. The cod roe mentioned earlier is a sake no sakana. Their purpose is to heighten the flavour of the sake.

Like I said, you may know this and Earl can fill in the gaps. I just didn't want you to think if you go to Japan you'll be faced with a McGuts sandwich at the Kyoto golden arches or something like that. Didn't want you to think the Japanese were obsessed with eating outrageous, ridiculous food all the time. Like the heathen Chinese, for instance.

Cordially,

[Earl Hartman]

Dave:

Cod roe the way my mother-in-law prepared it (an entire fresh egg sac, about the size of a fat zucchini, gently simmered whole in soy sauce, sake, and sugar) was a kind of okazu, of course, but she didn't serve it as an accompaniment to sake, necessarily. I would eat (lots of) it with rice as part of a regular dinner, or for breakfast the next day. Perhaps the version you had was a little different.

Thanks for the history lesson on Tsukuda-ni. Very interesting.

While the Japanese, as a nationality, may not be any more or less interested in "getemono-gui", the consumption of off-beat, and usually somewhat disgusting (in the eyes of people who don't share their intetest) foods than any other group, there is a thriving subculture of people who are into that sort of thing, as I am sure you must know, and there are often TV shows about it. I remember one where a leering middle-aged roue encouraged a young woman to eat something raw and vaguely unidentifiable. The young woman complied hesitantly, and after eating it and commenting that it had a strange texture and had filled her mouth with a strange sensation, asked what it was. With his most lascivious leer, the man told her that she had just ingested a raw pig testicle. I leave the ensuing pandemonium to your imagination.

Earl

[Gil Gillespie]

Dear Margaret, Dave, Earl,Jigme, Joe

Wow, some of my very favorite E-budo friends sitting around the getemono-gui table. Shitsurei shimas'----may I pull up a chair and sit on the floor with you for a few minutes. This is great stuff and I'm pas ing it on to my wife (the former Junko Takagi of Shizuoka City) as she bustles in the kitchen just beyond computer world here. With each of your entries she made some aside.

I'm still pretty "meat-n-potatoes" in my Japanese food propensisties but I must share this story with you guys. It's very tame in the getemono-gui arena but it has a certain cultural charm .In 1981 my family's animal acts were booked at Fuji Safari Park for 6months. As cheesebuger-n-pizza punks from New Jersey we went over kickin & screamin but fell in love right away.

Always hovering around the periphery of our social activities was a tall quiet man we knew only as Oni-san (older brother), who kept telling us we hadn't eaten japanese food until we had whale. Well weekslater he showedupbeaming & invited us to his home fora whale feast. Now we knew the unusual honor of being invited into a Japanese home!

This particular group of gaijin (circus animal people!) included 4 adults and a toddler. Oni-san and his mother served us and sat waiting politely for our compliments and the whale was VULCANIZED. My family looked sideways at each other & didn't know what to do.We knew if we were going to really swallow it weeks of intense chewing awaited us. We each found a way to discard it and breaking Oni-san's heart weighed heavy on us.

He continued to join us for all activities and in the ensuing months he would instigate the joking that relieved our humiliation. When October came and we were forced to depart broken hearts were a dime a dozen among us all. We had all been changed forever and budo still lay 8 years in my future.

Well, thank you for letting me join you. You're some of my favorite people. I wish I could stay for o-cha but O-ka-san is growling that my Italian (!??) supper is cooling on the table. I'll take a rain check. Our place soba next time. . .

Always, Gil

[Margaret Lo]

Originally posted by Dave Lowry

Like I said, you may know this and Earl can fill in the gaps. I just didn't want you to think if you go to Japan you'll be faced with a McGuts sandwich at the Kyoto golden arches or something like that.
Cordially,

Dear Mr. Lowry
Do not hesitate to tell me all about food of any variety. I have very limited knowledge about Japanese food not being a sufficiently dedicated foodie-ka to undertake a true training pilgrimage. Sigh - I should be ashamed! :(

As to the fish etc... in shoyu & mirin - sounds tasty but quite "heaty", can't be eaten in large doses.


[i]
Didn't want you to think the Japanese were obsessed with eating outrageous, ridiculous food all the time. Like the heathen Chinese, for instance.
[/B]

We are lucky that the Chinese gave up human sacrifice. Ever wonder what those gorgeous early bronze cauldrons were for? :)

BTW - I am on the lookout for recipes for fresh summer corn which are coming up in the next 4 days in Jersey. Any ideas for boiling, baking, grilling etc...?

-M-

[Doug Daulton]

A very interesting topic ... thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge. I'll throw out the few food and drink oddities of Japan I know of ...

Uni - sea urchin gonads - often served as sushi ... they have a taste which is ironically salty and nutty ;) I love 'em.

Natto - basically fermented (rotten) beans. Eaten with heavy mustard (to dull the taste I guess) .. these beans are quite pungent (think Limburger cheese) and the fermentation gives them a stringy, cheese-like, gooey coating. I'll try anything once .. and tried this delicacy last year while visiting the Kokusai Budo Daigaku in Katsura (I think). My friends got a huge kick out of the look on my face as I ate them.

Habu-sake - technically Okinawan not Japanese ... this is sake in which they drop a Habu Viper (live?) before sealing the bottle or cask to ferment. Like the worm in a bottle of Tequila, the snake remains there until the seal is broken. The result, presumably from the chemistry of the alcohol and venom, is a quite potent, mind-numbing elixir. Unlike tequila, I've never heard of anyone eating the snake.

Awamori - an Okinawan rice whisky often confused with sake. Man is this stuff smoooooth. I have been spoiled by my teacher ... I much prefer Yume Kokai brand (on the rocks) to sake. The problem is you can't get it in the States. So, I save my one bottle for special celebrations.

"Happy Fish Drink" - never tried this, but want to. If you've seen the Scott Glenn-Toshiro Mifune film "The Challenge" You've seen this. It is a cup of osake in which is dropped a spoonful of live, baby eels squirming to get out of the alcohol which burns. You then drink the glass down, live eels and all, to feel them slide down your throat. I wanted to try this when in Tokyo, but the only bar my friends knew that served it was way on the other side of town. Upon further review, it sounds a bit cruel, so maybe I'll pass next time I visit.

"Live" Sashimi I've only heard of this being done in Okinawa, but perhaps it is done elsewhere as well. You pick your fish out of a tank. The chef cleans, guts and prepares it in front of you. He then presents the sashimi in the still twitching and blinking shell of the fish.

While I am at it, I'll follow Mr.Svinth's lead and offer a few food oddities from ports outs side of Japan ...

Latin America
-- Ant Eggs (per a friend whose tried them)

France
--Chocolate covered-insects Ants, grasshoppers etc. .. per same friend

USA - (Region)
--Mountain Oysters (West) - Bull testicles
--Squirrel Brains (Appalachia)
--Souse & Head Cheese (Nationwide) Miscellaneous offal, ears and other trim meats from the butcher, mixed with spices and suspended in gelatin. (Yummm ... NOT!)

India
--"Prawns" - Weird for their size, not taste. These fresh-water shrimp are HUGE ... lobster-esque. If I hadn't seen them with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it ... tasty in Vindaloo!

Korea
--Kimchee - a fermented (rotten) cabbage slaw. As I understand it, this stuff is made by mixing hot peppers, cabbage and assorted veggies in a clay pot then sealing it and burying it in the ground for a few weeks. The result is a pungent hot slaw which, once past your nose is quite tasty. Strange ... I don't like natto, but I love this stuff. ... An amusing sidebar ... a judo friend used to eat kimchee the night before shiai. The next day, the stuff leaks out of your pores and is quite "raw". So when doing ne-waza ... some folks would tap out not from the pain of the technique, but the smell. Talk about "Sei Roku Senyo" in action! :D

Britain and Scotland
--Haggis Offal and barley, stuffed in sheep's stomach and boiled
--Duck's Blood Soup - The name says it all
--The Floater - In my book, this is the mother of all digestive oddities ...apparently the British equivalent of a fraternity dare and not for the weak of stomach or perhaps polite or public dissemination ... If you are interested in knowing what it is, ask me off line and I'll be happy to share.

Well, that's all I have for now.

Doug Daulton

PS - Margaret ... have you ever cooked large portabella mushroom caps on the grill? Marinate them overnight in shoyu or teriyaki sauce with a bit of garlic then slap 'em on the grill. They are big enough to pass as hamburgers, so put them on a bun and go to town. Way tasty and great if you have vegetarian friends.

[Joseph Svinth]

That kimchee sounds like the winter kimchee, the kind that has been left to ferment for a few months. The summer stuff isn't nearly as strong, and is what you usually get around here.

The Norwegians and North Pacific Coast peoples also have a variety of whale dishes, and eaten raw or fresh, it provides nutrients not otherwise obtainable in the Arctic. Some cuts of the Pacific bowhead whale are supposed to be reasonably tasty, and these are the ones that the Russians and Japanese have been selling in cans since the 1920s. That said, most whale meat is either rendered into margarine or fed to sled dogs and minks.



[Edited by Joseph Svinth on 07-03-2000 at 01:00 AM]

[hyaku]

Originally posted by Earl Hartman
Margaret:

Shirako (cod sperm) can be eaten raw or cooked. I've had it both ways, and my wife says cooked is more common. It is often served in miso soup. Thumbs up on this one.

Earl



Granny used to bring this on Tuesdays from the fish shop. Used to flour and fry it and eat it on toast with Ketchup!

Still eat it that way but it's a bit more expensive here and seasonal.

Did you try An-kimo? I love it.

Hyakutake Colin

P.S.

Kimchee stir fryed with thinly sliced pork is nice. Also fried natto with minced meat served in lettuce leaves.



[Edited by hyaku on 07-02-2000 at 08:43 PM]

[Joseph Svinth]

Sorry, Earl, but kimchee with pork sounds a whole lot tastier than cod sperm.

[Margaret Lo]

Thank you Doug I'll try the portobello recipe for my vegetarian friend, but I won't show her this thread, she'll pass out.

Chinese delicacies - chicken feet and duck webs marinated in soy sauce. Tripe of course, and then there is PORK FAT in slabs - pork belly stewed in a red sauce. The fat is the precious part not the meat.

Then of course - dogs, though Koreans love dogs too. Small plump black ones. Poor things!! :(

-M-

[Neil Yamamoto]

When I lived on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, there was a Korean family who would make their own kimchee.

You could always tell when they dug up the pot and opened the sucker, it would smell for days and you could smell it up to about 6-7 blocks away. You would feel like the little troll guy in the movie "Labyrinth" who always said "Smells bad."

OK, anyone else here had dog? Not bad stir fried.

Cobra - tastes like gamey pork with a gristly texture.

Kangaroo - This is really good stuff!

Ha-Mu - fermented fish paste and pork. Smells bad, tastes OK with lots of hot rice.

Filipino duck egg with embryo intact. Had a hard time with this one but if you don't want to look like a wimp and are as stupid as I am, you can live off of it.

Wild Boar bacon - pretty good stuff, not as fatty as pig bacon.

Chitlins- Ugh!

[Earl Hartman]

Margaret:

Interesting comment about the fat being considered the most precious part. In the sacrificial rituals practiced by the Israelites when the Temple still stood in Jerusalem, the choicest parts of the animal, specifically the fattiest parts, were offered on the altar as a gift to G-d, His reserved portion. I guess people have always known where the real flavor is (and it ain't in Marlboro country, either, buckaroo).

Earl

[burp]

Margaret, You were asking about how to prepare fresh corn? Something that is often served at matsuri (and tourist locations) in Japan ... grilled corn with soy sauce. The soy sauce is brushed on the corn as it is grilled ... kind of like teriyaki. The smell alone is wonderful! Give it a try ... you'll enjoy it!


Since the subject has turned more from odd foods to simply good food (or is it odd good food?) ... my wife makes a dish that is delicious ... has eggplant, sesame seeds, and natto. Not totally sure about everything that is in the sauce ... probably sesame seed oil, soy sauce, etc. I'll have to ask. Fried up and served with gohan. It is delicious! (Disclaimer: I do love natto ... so this dish works for me.)

Something I used to eat regularly for breakfast (besides natto gohan) and is still one of my favorites ... tamago gohan. Bowl of hot gohan ... crack an egg on top ... mix it in ... season to taste with a little bit of soy sauce (mix in). Absolutely delicious.


For those who have tried natto only once and decided they didn't like it ... try it a couple more times and you'll love it! Can't guarantee it, however ... ;) .

Enjoy!

mikehansen

[Edited by burp on 07-06-2000 at 12:16 PM]

[Earl Hartman]

Mike:

Tried natto a number of times. Still don't like it, although I can wrestle it down my throat if there is nothing else around. Everyone else in my family lives on it.

Re: Tamago Gohan:

I use just the yolk of the raw egg, which concentrates the flavor better and makes the whole thing a little less mucoid. After mixing the egg yolk with the rice, sprinkle on some katsuobushi flakes and finely chopped green onions, then wrap the whole thing up in a nice crisp sheet of nori. With miso shiru and some good hot green tea, a great way to start the day.

Earl

PS: Ever have natto mixed with grated tororo imo and sliced raw okra? I dislike all three of these things, but for people who are into the slippery-slimy aspects of food, I have been told this is a tasty dish. I'll take their word for it.

[burp]

Howdy!

Earl, You're certainly not alone on the natto thing. I just happen to love it. Whenever I'm in Japan with my wife's family (up in Aomori), her uncle and I just love to eat mito natto. He usually has a certain type (or brand) he's itching to have me try ... ie. to see if it gets my vote for the best natto around. Lot's of fun for us ... to the chagrin (or should I say boredom) of the rest of the family!

I've never tried tamago gohan that way ... . It sounds really good! I'll have to try it (minus the green tea - I don't drink it).

I've never tried natto with tororo nor okra. Sounds interesting. Do you like tororo or okra in another way? Tororo soba is pretty good. Sometimes just plain with some shoyu and nori is good. Whenever my mother-in-law visits, she smuggles in some fresh yamaimo from the Aomori area. Makes for some delicious tororo. As for okra, we often eat it with ajipon over it ... makes for a nice little sidedish. You're right though ... interesting textures involved with all three of these food products!

Enjoy!

mikehansen

[Earl Hartman]

Mike:

I never really got into tororo or okra. My late grandmother, who was from Montgomery, Alabama, put okra in her gumbo, which ruined it, as far as I'm concerned. I know, I know, before everyone piles on, I know that if it doesn't have okra in it it's not really gumbo. So sue me. Okra is not too disgusting deep fried or tempura'd, but it's still not something I'll go out of my way to eat.

Ever had kabura-zushi or funa-zushi? If you're into really (and I mean REALLY) stinky fermented stuff you'll probably like those.

Earl

[WolfHound]

Anyone ever have shredded pig ear(the cartilage)? Had it in Okinawa. Was a lot like squid to me, kinda chewy. I can understand why dogs love them. :)

I can't stand the fermented soybeans yuck! The smell of it turns my stomach.

I agree. Okra is best served fried(spent 8 months in Biloxi). It's too slimey otherwise.

There's a variety of seaweed that I've been server before that is reddish and looks like blood worms. Anyone know the name of it? It was served in a vineger and smelled like a antiseptic you'd find at a hospital.


Clark Williamson

[Doug Daulton]

Originally posted by WolfHound
Anyone ever have shredded pig ear(the cartilage)? Had it in Okinawa. Was a lot like squid to me, kinda chewy. I can understand why dogs love them. :)

I've had this and agree it is pretty good ... very chewy.

Did you have pig's feet soba? Where they cook the pig-knuckle in it until it breaks down and is not so chewy any more? I didn't think I'd like it ... but it was quite good.

Speaking of which, I am told Okinawan soba is a little different than mainland soba. The noodles are generally thicker as is the broth. I had both during my visit and think there is a definite difference. That certainly doesn't make me and expert. Can anyone else confirm?

[WolfHound]

Yeah, the pigs feet soba was really good.

Okinawan soba noodles are thicker and yummier in my opinion.

I especially like the soba with the slab of pork floating in it. Mmmmmmm :)

We went to a traditional dinner theater and had a 7ish course meal of Okinawan foods, all perfectly delish (except the before mentioned seaweed).

Clark Williamson

[hikari]

Some Spanish delicacies:

Sesos de cordero - sort of lamb brains tempura
Criadillas - bull testes
Madejas - sheep guts rolled in a cilindrical shape
Callos - cow stomach stew
Calamares en su tinta - squid stewed in its own ink
Pulpo a feira - boiled octopus with paprika
Sepia a la plancha - grilled cuttlefish with parsley and lemon
Toro de lidia - fighting bull meat (you were wondering what did people do with the dead bull after the corrida?)

Yep, all of these dishes are for real, although some of them are more common than the others. Callos, squid and cuttlefish, for example, are as common as muck.

[Jeff Bristol]

I forget where, but in South America (I think Peru) a great delicacy is Guinea Pig. And I heard once that and Capybara. Gotta love eaeting 4 feet long rats.



Jeff Bristol

[Margaret Lo]

On Lonely Planet on the Travel Channel, they showed fried guinea pig. Apparently guinea pig is a food staple and shows up even on stained glass in church, because in pre-Columbian times, it was the largest domesticated meat animal available.

-M-

[Gene McGloin]

When I was in Japan for New Year's, my wife dared me to eat bear sashimi and deer sashimi at a mountain ryokan. Bear was like a slice of fatty, raw bacon, but the deer was good. Another time, my mother-in-law offered me a piece of sushi which I'd never eaten before. It tasted good and had a unique consistancy. When I asked what it was she happily replied "Well, female fish have eggs, right? Well this is what the male fish has, and whatever part that makes it!" Thanks, Okaasan.

I like food, I just don't need to know what it was, or its function, prior to me eating it!

[Steve Williams]

Not much posted to this thread recently but I think it is quite interesting.

You have to try anything at least once, more if it tastes ok.

Have had a variety of "world" foods. Amongst them:

Haggis- great taste
Oyster- salty snot
Live sashimi- fantastic taste, but strange sensation watching the eye glass over as you eat its back !!
Reindeer- tasted better smoked
Alligator- tastes a little like chicken
Squid- chewy but ok

There are lots more, whenever I travel I make it a point to try at least one local delicacy, this is a great way to widen your horizons.

[Alacoque]

Wow, what a wealth of food information. I'm going to Japan in November(first time) and I'm really really looking forward to trying out all the new(to me) food. Almost as much as the training! But we are no strangers to offal in Ireland, as with any peasant cuisine every single bit of nutrition had to be gotten out of the precious livestock. Tripe (sheeps stomach lining) is a delicacy boiled in milk with onions, black pudding is a blood sausage popularly served for breakfast and pigs trotters(feet)were considered delicious after a feed of Guinness.
On the subject of fat however, Lardo from northern Italy is absolutely delicious. It's a piece of fat from the stomach of pig that has been cured with salt and herbs and when it is served wafer thin on slices of hot toast it's fab. Another unusual food from Italy is Sardinian worm cheese which is a type of hard sheeps milk cheese that has been left to rot until maggotts develop and these impart a unique flavour. I've eaten it and it's not too bad.
In Italy they also eat tuna sperm and for anybody who wants to order it, check out http://www.esperya.com which is an excellent Italian food site.
Must Go,
Alacoque Meehan

[Earl Hartman]

Tripe, OK.

Herb-flavored lard? OK.

Pig's feet? OK.

Tuna sperm? OK.

Rancid, maggot-infested cheese?

Blaaarrrggghhh!!!

I think we have a winner for the most revolting food on the face of the planet.

Earl

[Doug Daulton]

I gotta go with Earl on the worm cheese!

[Steve Williams]

Hi All

If anybody is really into Scary Foods then this book is a must:
"Strange Foods" by Jerry Hopkins, subtitled "bush meat, bats, and butterflies an epicurean adventure around the world.
isbn number: 962-593-154-6

It is excellent reading, such mouth-watering morcels as;
Pig ear in garlic sauce
Five penis wine
Worm meal protein shake (low fat!!)
Deep fried field rat
Mannish water (sheeps head stew)
Bulls ball pie
Sour ant (red ant eggs)
Stir fried bat.

There is a great quote in it: "What is repulsive in one part of the world, in another is simply lunch."

This book should be on everyones coffee table !!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/9625931546/qid%3D969055939/104-1739549-5054360

[Edited by Steve Williams on 09-15-2000 at 05:07 PM]

[Margaret Lo]

Also important to consider is the time at which certain foods are consumed. Someone who likes pho for lunch may have a hard time eating it for breakfast - which is what it often is in Vietnam.

Tough for breakfast for non-natives might also be: curry noodles, natto with rice; soy milk with sugar or chilis.

Other examples?

[Steve Williams]

In a small cafe in a small village in Japan a few years ago, spied a small packet of corn flakes on a shelf (very dusty, probably been there months), asked if I could buy them, then asked for a bowl and poured them in. Asked for some milk, was given a glass of milk.
The next part you really had to see, the look on everybodies face when I poured the milk on the corn flakes and ate them, those expressions were priceless.

Mind you if you saw somebody having cold bacon cold fried egg and rice wrapped with nori for breakfast you might pull a face.

[Neil Hawkins]

I saw some scary delicacies when I was in China, but don't know what they're called. The ones that stood out were bird embryo's straight out of the shell, and a variety of insects, bolied, fried and battered.

I have done a survival course with Army that had us eating strange things, but not really scary, emu, kangeroo, crocodile, lizard, snake, cockatoo and pretty much anything else that hops, walks or swims. We had ants, big termite like ones with a really sweet abdomen, we made tea out of green tree ants and had grasshoppers. We ate wichity grubs, which are a kind of caterpiller thing and all sorts of plants.

But the two things I ate on the course that put even the instructors off were found in a rubbish bin, old watermelon rinds and re-using old teabags, they were only a day or so old and still had flavour, and I washed them first!:)

Neil

[Joseph Svinth]

Drinking Listerine for the alcohol content is also pretty nasty.

[kusanku]

Speaking of Vetnamese cuisine-Three Star Nuoc Mam from Phu Quoc Island.

Nuc Mam is Vietnamese Fish Sauce- here's how its made, or used to be, on Phu Quoc Island(Hainan Island):

You bulid a barrell about three stories high, then you put down a layer of salt, a layer of fish, a ayer of salt, a layer of fish, you get the idea, until its full, slap and nail the top on, leave it for five years:D,come back ten and stick a bung in the bottom of the barrel, and that suff, grey in color, that comes oozing out, is Nuoc Mam, highest grade.

Open it inside a building or other enclosed surface, and you have to evacuate the area.

But here's the kicker- when it hits the rice, it is neutralized smell-wise, and is delicious, though very salty.It can also be mixed half and half with Vietnamese hot sauce, and put on a rice ball.

In between opening the bottle, and it hitting the rice, do not breathe in.

This stuff contains alost everything you need to add to rice to ensure healthy survival.

[Margaret Lo]

I think the theory behind this fish sauce and the more powerful curries is: if you live, nothing else you eat - short of cyanide - can kill you.

[kusanku]

Margaret Lo states the theory behind Fish Sauce and the more powerful curries:'If you live, nothing short of cyanide can kill you.'

That, or a sufficient number of suspcious looking beverages with mbrellas served on cruise ships everwhere:-)and even they may only have a delayed or temporary effect.

Especially if you have Three Star Phu Quoc Island sauce each day for lunch.

It may also prolong your life, by prematurely embalming you.

Not for the faint hearted, I'm telling the world!

[Edited by kusanku on 09-21-2000 at 11:10 PM]